TEEX Explosives Training leads to Blinn College Fire Science Degree

9/22/2011 12:00 AM

COLLEGE STATION - Students enrolled in the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Explosives Training Program, operated by the Public Safety & Security division, will now be eligible for college credit and future financial aid through an articulation agreement with Blinn College. Under the agreement, Blinn students seeking a Fire Science degree who complete four TEEX Ordnance Removal & Remediation courses would be eligible for 18 semester hours of college credit toward an Associate of Applied Science degree.

Although the completion of each course earns degree credit, in order to earn 18 hours, students are required to successfully complete the following courses: Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Technician I, Hazwoper for UXO Clean-Up Operations, Demining and Heavy Equipment Operator for Ordnance Workers.

“The TEEX Ordnance Removal & Remediation program currently supports the industry’s only Department of Defense-certified UXO Technician course in the nation,” said Public Safety & Security Division Director Tom Shehan. “Through the Blinn College articulation agreement, TEEX is now the only provider of degree credit linked to the unexploded ordnance industry.”

The new agreement goes into effect this month with the UXO Tech I course, which is offered at the Texas A&M Riverside campus. Students who enroll in the TEEX courses may qualify for future financial aid through Blinn and also for the VA’s Post-9/11 GI Bill.

“The Blinn College articulation agreement for credit under the Fire Science degree program will not only serve as an incentive for customers seeking more for their hard-earned tuition investment, it will also allow those customers in need of VA assistance or student loans access to such resources,” Shehan added.

Shehan and PS&S Training Director Cullen Grissom met with Blinn Vice President of Applied Sciences and Workforce Education Bob Brick, Director of the Fire Science Program Nathan Sivils and Director of TechEd Quality Initiatives Karen Buck to hammer out the agreement.

“Thanks to the great relationship established with the Blinn College folks, our future and continued development of articulation degree credit for many other vocational training products is fast becoming a reality,” Shehan said.